


The Bi-Eyed Broad

by ReplicaJoelle



Category: RWBY
Genre: AU, Film Noir
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-26
Updated: 2016-01-03
Packaged: 2018-05-09 11:48:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5538731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReplicaJoelle/pseuds/ReplicaJoelle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was a cold, dreary night. Rain dripped down the smoke-stained windows like a grimy waterfall. The heels of a woman dressed in fur splashed in the puddles as she rushed inside an old brick office building with a handful of questions. The answers lay in the hands of a detective with handsomely polished eyeliner to rival her own who was definitely not drunk enough for the night ahead.</p><p>The dramatic night's events are cataloged in the singed papers found at the scene of the crime.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Pink and Brown

**Author's Note:**

  * For [XIIIthNobody](https://archiveofourown.org/users/XIIIthNobody/gifts).



 

I remember it like it was yesterday.

In fact it was yesterday. Or maybe the day before? I’m typing this after a tall bottle of whiskey, I’ll get back to you. Anyway, back to the story.

I was lounging at my desk, two ice cubes melting into a whiskey, when this beautiful dame came into my office. She was compact yet filled the whole room. Her hips could have knocked a full grown man to the ground. I would have bet my bottom dollar she once tried. She walked so gracefully with that umbrella in her hand. Water dripped onto the floor and shined a bit in her hair. It had been pouring for days, an umbrella was hardly much use. Her already tight dress clung to pale skin.

She came to me with that desperate look in her eyes. I’ve seen that look a thousand times before. Women have strutted up and down this office, sometimes with a case, sometimes without. I tend to know they’ve got something interesting just by looking at them, but this girl, she was ten times of interesting. She slammed a  stack of paper on my desk and looked me straight in the eyes.

Her eyes were unusual. Left eye brown, but the right was a dull pink. Never in my life had I seen such an amazing thing. It distracted me from the bright pink of her hair. What kind of a woman has half brown half pink hair with white stripes? She left me in all kinds of wonder and it didn’t stop at her looks.

I asked her name, no answer. I asked why she was here. No answer. She just kept staring me dead in the eyes. She slid the papers closer to me. What was this about? What was so important?

I flipped through the papers and something caught my eye. It was a photo of her with another woman. She was beautiful, no one could deny, but that woman looked more than just the burlesque outfit she was wearing. Who was she? In fact, who was this woman standing across from me?

I sighed as I sat back in my chair. I opened my top left drawer and reached for my cigar box. Oh how I was definitely going to need this. Only three left. Damn, it was hard to get my hands on these. Every once and a while they’d bust a drug ring and sometimes there would be a miscount. I was just a small portion of that miscount. Unimportant.

What was important was that look in her eyes. She didn’t look scared. Just desperate. She had stumbled upon something she shouldn’t have, I could tell, and whoever that woman was in this picture, she had something big behind her.

As interested as I was in the case I was more interested in this girl. I shuffled around my desk for my matches, but she produced one before I could. Where did she pull that from? She struck the match and held it for me to light my cigar. Wait, was that _my_ matchbook? When did she…?

One corner of her mouth curled and her eyes narrowed. Where did that look of desperation go? She seemed more… intrigued.

I took a long drag of my cigar and exhaled slowly. Was this a trick? What was she trying to do? Why did she come to me?

Just who was she?  

I glanced over at my drink. Damn, the ice was already melted. I downed it anyway.

I was going to need this too.


	2. Dirty Motel Room

Did I mention that I am very drunk? How do people do this? Why did I drink this much? I need to finish this before the headache sets in. There’s a reason I’m typing this. I need to get to that point before I forget. It has to do with why I’m so drunk right now probably. Is my boss going to see this? Damn it. Why am I typing the thoughts in my head. Ah, fuck! The ding is really hurting my head. You know what screw this I am writing the rest of the story by hand.

_That’s better. This feels nice. A nice ballpoint pen, another glass of whiskey_

_oh shit you can’t see that right? I just spilled whiskey on the paper._

_Now I have to write around it._

_Fuck this I’m going back to the type writer._

The broad took a seat across from me. She still wouldn’t talk to me, only smiled. Her eyes left so many questions that I knew she wouldn’t answer.

I told her “Listen, I can’t help you if you don’t start talkin’. I’m not a mind reader here.” She tilted her head and blinked. Her eyes switched colors and I almost dropped my cigar. “Quite a trick you got there, hon.”

She reached forward and flipped through the pages in front of me. There were several photos of that woman as well as two other people. There were newspaper clippings of arson, a train robbery, murder. Unsolved cases? Did she think they were linked? These locations were all over the map. What could they possibly…

Schnee. I saw that name in multiple photos. The Schnee Gold Company. Everyone has their eye on gold these days. Was Schnee a target? Or were they a conspirator?

All I know about them is that they have a rather, controversial, relationship with immigrants. They’ve had their share of riots. But that woman didn’t look like an immigrant, she looked straight out of Hollywood. What would she have against them? Besides the fortune, that is.

I reluctantly went through the papers. I didn’t see anything that seemed like a connection. All I saw was a pretty woman standing in front of the same logo that was in those incidents, but that didn’t mean a damn thing. They were everywhere. Every star in Hollywood was bought by that name. And they would be sold by it too.

“Unless you show me a concrete connection I can’t do a damned thing about it. My hands are tied. Showing me these pictures aren’t going help unless you got a photo of this woman with her hand on a knife or a match.” I only assumed she was accusing her of something. But why give me a photo of them together? Did she work for this dame? Was she being blackmailed? I needed answers.

The thunder cracked with an unusual boom. Wait, that wasn’t thunder. Gunshots? Either my past was catching up with me or this gal was about to get me sent on a one way trip to paradise. Well hell was infinitely more likely.

I ducked as another shot rang out, breaking the glass of my window. The rain poured in and put out my cigar. I’ll get them for that. I quickly grabbed my jacket, put on my hat, and grabbed my trusty cane. “We’ll discuss this more later.” I motioned for her to follow me out of the office. She snatched the pile of papers she brought in with her and ran with her umbrella closely behind me. I was lucky to have parked on the far side of the office today. I had only just this afternoon grumbled about the walk in the rain but now this little walk gave us a chance to escape.

I dug into my pockets for my keys, rushed to unlock the door, slid in and unlocked her side. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an umbrella close so fast. Once she was in we were off.

They were tailing me. I had to lose them through a seedy maze of dives and bars no self respecting man would ever walk into. The very locations most of my perps hung around in. They could smell the law on me from a mile away and I could always feel their burning stares drilling holes in me. Even so they were always quick to give up a name if it wasn’t theirs. Low lives would sell out their mothers for quick getaway.

I glanced over at her. She seemed remarkably calm for a broad in this situation. I was shaking more than she was. The rain had soaked us both through yet she didn’t mind. Where was I going to go? I couldn’t take her home. I couldn’t take her to _my_ home. Hell, my home was the office most days. I knew I shouldn’t have worked this second job. I was already in law enforcement I didn’t need to take on civilian cases. This one might get me killed, too.

I knew a place I could go. A little motel I used to use for undercover work. They don’t know I have a badge I know they’ll protect me if anyone goes asking around. Plus they have a garage I can hide my car. I do not need bullet holes in this I haven’t even paid it off.

“Don’t take this the wrong way sweetheart but we need to lie low. I’m taking us to a motel unless you’d rather stumble around in the rain.” She didn’t object. She certainly didn’t jump out of the car so I assumed she agreed with my plan. When is she going to talk to me? She hasn’t made so much as a tiny sound. It was starting to become strange.

I parked in my usual spot. The manager recognized my car and waved me into the garage. I told the girl to wait in the car as I talked to him. I told him I needed a room for at least the night, didn’t know when I’d be checking out, didn’t want to be on the books, didn’t want any questions. He smiled and nodded as he glanced into my passenger’s seat. I couldn’t even assure him it wasn’t like that. Beautiful girl in car in my car in the evening? That certainly didn’t look like ‘I’m trying to escape being shot at by some bozos with a mute ice cream cone lookin’ gal with some papers on a burlesque broad.’ I’d rather he assumed it was some questionable company than actually question my company.

He went back to his office and came back with a set of keys. My usual room number. I have no clue if he ever rented to anyone but me. It seemed cleaner than the rest of the rooms. At least when I entered. I always left a good enough tip to pay for the mess. I told him I might ring down later to have one of his boys make a supper run. I needed to get out of these wet clothes first.

The manager left and I popped the trunk and pulled out a suitcase. My line of work always kept me on my toes, sometimes I didn’t know where I’d end up each night. Always pack a bag to leave in the car.

The girl hopped out of the passenger’s side as I closed the trunk. I told her to follow me to our room. I remembered as I walked up the stairs to the room that there was only one bed, yet most nights I slept at my desk so one more night in a chair wouldn’t kill me. Do I have anything for her to wear? She can’t stay in that she’ll freeze to death. She looked as cold as the ice cream her hair mimicked.

Maybe I was the one who would freeze tonight. I’m a gentleman after all


	3. Bottle Half Emtpy

Oh god, yea, there it is. There’s the headache. You know if you keep drinking you don’t feel it but once you stop, damn it hurts. I need to get this window fixed. I swept the glass into a corner but it’s still pretty windy even though the rain stopped. It’s still fucking cold. I’m shivering here with my jacket on. It might be harder to remember what happened now.

We entered the room. It was just as basic as it needed. A bed, a nightstand, a desk with a chair, and a bathroom. The lighting was dim, but for all I knew they were the same light bulbs as the day I first walked in here. I didn’t spend my life here, the furnishings didn’t matter. They weren’t to impress, they were to get by.

I removed my hat, placing it on desk, and then my coat and slung it over the desk chair. She closed the door behind her, locking it tight, barely tall enough to be able to slide the door chain. She leaned her umbrella against the wall, set the papers on the desk, and slowly slid the fur coat from her shoulders. Perhaps it was faux fur for it to have survived this rain. In any case it was cruel to hide the body underneath. I saw now that she was wearing a strapless gown, how daring. The pink little number looked like it walked off the stage at cabaret club. Even now, drenched from the rain, her curls coming undone, make up smeared, she still looked as untouchable as the women who sing for the rich and famous in the classiest nightclubs. With as silent as she is I couldn’t ever picture her singing. But that should have been my first clue.

I sat down my bag down on the desk and had a rummage through it. Only one set of clothes, but there was a bottle of whiskey, ah, and cigars, I love myself. I always come prepared. There were a few other, ahem, necessities, but this would do for now.

“If you aren’t going to give me a name I’ll just call you Neapolitan. Or maybe just Neo. How’s that sound, miss?” She gave me a playful smile as I opened the bottle of whiskey. “Why don’t you go warm yourself up with a bath? I’ll see what I can get from those papers.” I set down the bottle and offered her my change of clothes. Mine may be damp but no one could sleep in a dress tight as that. She blinked both eyes pink as she only grabbed the button up from the top of the pile and walked off towards the bathroom. She stopped for a moment to remove her heels, losing a few inches in the process. I won’t deny to a lengthy look. I knew at that moment I was going to forgo glasses and just drink straight from the bottle.

If she wasn’t going to use these clothes then I should. I loosened my tie, rolled up my sleeves and changed into some dry trousers. I set them with my wet shoes and socks in a corner. I decided to just remove the tie completely and unbuttoned a few buttons as I sat down to the pile of papers. I retrieved a notepad and pen from my bag and went to work.

Schnee had to be the target of some sort of crime ring. From what I could tell Neo wanted me to know that the woman in these photos was involved. One of the articles was of a warehouse fire full of products belonging to Schnee. Official reports say that everything was damaged beyond salvation but nothing seemed to be missing. But what if there was? What if the arsonist burned the whole warehouse just for one thing? The train heist, a large shipment of gold was stolen, but what else? Among the missing merchandise not belonging to Schnee there were various valuables that could be easily sold for profit. Were they in it for the money or was the gold their goal? The murder of a bookstore owner. How could this be connected? Unsolved, yet it was like he was assassinated professionally. Who would kill a bookstore owner? The location his shop, I’ve seen it, it’s close to a Schnee bank. Perhaps the bookstore was just a front? A spy? Whatever he did he crossed the wrong people and died for it. There were other stories such as bank robberies, jewelry store robberies, missing persons. These were all hard to connect to a single organization.

A fourth of the bottle was gone before she even returned and I was still no closer to connecting any dots. I didn’t even hear the bathroom door open when a hand was placed on my right shoulder. I looked over and my face was directly in front of a half unbuttoned shirt and slightly dripping hair. My first instinct was to shove the bottle of whiskey into my mouth, choking just a bit.

“I, uh, haven’t really made any progress here.” I put my right hand on my neck, conveniently covering the view I definitely should not be looking at. I looked at her face, straight in the two color eyes, no lower. “I need you to tell me something if you want me to get any more involved. Telling me who those shooters were would be helpful.” As usual she just gave me that sly smile. I sighed. I’m going to get nowhere with this girl.

Neo reached for the bottle and took a sip from it before placing it back on the desk with a blink of double pink. She slid one finger from my elbow to my wrist before walking towards the bed. Right back to the bottle I went.

This girl was teasing me and I wasn’t sure why. I am a devilishly handsome detective who just save her life, but before that, the matches, the papers, hell, when she walked through that door she was teasing me. I was going to play her game the exact way she wanted me to.

I turned to look at her. My shirt was almost as long as her dress had been. But this was just a tad more revealing. A damp white shirt reveals all, I suppose. I could see the faint outline of pink. I shouldn’t have looked but, she was right there. She pulled back the covers from the bed and slipped under. I think she might have winked at me before turning off the light.

I took a deep breath and turned back around. I reached back into the bag for my cigar case and lit one as I leaned back in my chair. This was more than I could handle.


	4. Cold

Note to self: get sober and stay sober. Or: get drunk and stay drunk. Whichever is easier. I’m out of cigars in the office now too. Stop smoking them like cigarettes. I’m going to turn up dead somewhere with only my hat on, covered in cigar burns, with smudged eyeliner, and no one will even question it. My tombstone will read: ‘he died the way he lived: perfect hair and never could get the eyeliner right. Also drunk.’

I try really hard every morning but you know a guy can only do so much when he woke up a half hour after his alarm should have went off, skipped breakfast to do his hair, and ends up an hour late for work. When I’m hired by local law enforcement I get reprimanded yet still I keep my job. It’s the hair, I tell you. Oh shit, I was telling a story.

I stood at the window watching the rain trickle down the glass pane. The sun had fallen hours ago, the only lights now were a few streetlamps dimly glowing. The smoke from my cigar fogged the glass, obscuring the dirty reflection of my own face. I was tired. I looked it. No amount of eyeliner could counteract the bags under my eyes. My beauty was hard earned these days. I had been sleeping at a desk for too long. Too many late nights spent pouring over papers. Too many late nights with gals I never learned the name of. Yet here I was with a sad combination of all three.

I leaned against the window and looked over at the nameless woman on the bed. She was fast asleep, her tiny body curled up in the blankets. Her face was barely illuminated by the lamp across the room from her. I had meals delivered a while ago but I didn’t want to wake her. She looked so peaceful. That sly smile was replaced by such an innocent expression. Even the most devilish woman couldn’t play tricks in her sleep. Just what trouble did this dame stumble herself into?

I noticed she began to stir in her sleep. Was she having a nightmare? I hope I didn’t wake her. I put my cigar out in the bathroom and walked back to the desk. I might as well get some sleep. I was reaching for the light as I heard a noise behind me. I turned around to see she was sitting up in the bed.

“What’s wrong, darling? Bad dream?” Her eyes were pale and white, but she quickly blinked them to her trademark pink and brown. She wasn’t the type to admit it, even if she had a nightmare. I looked over at the desk with a container of food sitting untouched. “Listen if you’re hungry I had something brought in. I don’t know if you’ll eat it but-” I looked back towards her and found her directly in front of me, a slender finger at my lips. I hadn’t even heard her leave the bed.

She smiled with two pink eyes as she took a hold of my hand. She reached behind me, pressing her chest against mine and turned off the light. She pulled me along in the darkness towards the bed. I didn’t have much of a reply, just a hard swallow and a nervous cough.

  
This was business. I had to say no. Didn’t I? Yes, of course. But I did just get shot at. No, no. I’m a professional. I was just going to… be smooth. I’ve rejected girls before. Not pretty ones like this but I could…. try. Besides, what if I was reading the situation wrong? Easy mistake, I mean she is wearing nothing but my half unbuttoned shirt and pink panties but I’m sure anyone would think the same thing I am. I wished she had let me take one last drink of the bottle growing even further away before she made me lay down on the bed next to her.

“Listen honey, I…” Before I could even counteract my own consciousness she pressed her soft pink lips against mine. I no doubt tasted like cigars and alcohol but she tasted sweet. As sweet as she looked. I didn’t even return the kiss before she stopped to nestle her head into my chest. She pulled the covers over us both and scooted as close to me as she could. I couldn’t help but smile. I played right into her hands. It wasn’t too bad.

It turned out that she was just cold after all.


	5. White Eyes

I just sneezed so hard I accidentally punched myself. Good thing I’m not using the pen. I need to cover that window. My make up is ruined anyway. I can only use the ‘smoky eye’ excuse for so long before someone catches on that I just haven’t bothered to take it off or fix it for three days. My eyes are going to be ruined by the time I’m thirty. Damn, that isn’t that far off. If I live that long I’ll stop using this shit. I almost didn’t. Oh wait, that’s what I was doing. So anyway…

 

I woke up to a small body still curled up to mine. I could barely see the top of her multicolored head poking out from under the blanket. It was nice to wake up with a woman by my side. You know, one that didn’t rush out as soon as her time was up or woke up with a massive hangover. My life was a mess of the now and I never stopped to think about the past or the future, and certainly never the consequences.

I yawned as I pondered a way to remove myself from the clutches of this mystery woman. I wasn’t sure if it was wise to wake her as I didn’t know if she was a kitten or a bear in the morning. Either way I could get my face clawed off. But alas, as I had nearly an entire bottle of whiskey the night before I had to get out of this bed. Her hand was grasping tightly onto my shirt and I had to make a decision. I decided to try giving her a light shake, but she didn’t move an inch.

“Come on, miss, it’s time to wake up.” I sighed. “At least let go of me.” I took her hand and tried to loosen her grip. She let out a quiet groan and I froze for a second. Her mysterious eyes blinked open. Two brown eyes looked at me with a mixture of confusion and hatred. It probably was not the best idea to wake her. I let out a nervous laugh as she rubbed her eyes. At least I was free from her grip. “Sorry, doll, but nature calls.”

I slipped away from her and rushed to the bathroom. At best she would fall back to sleep before I returned. At worst she would be waiting outside the door with the whiskey bottle. I wish I could say I have never dealt with the latter but that’s the last time I wake up with the wrong sister and use the right name.

Her dress was slung over the side of the tub. It was dry but hardly daywear. Was it even wise to leave? None of this business was wise. Meanwhile I finished up my own little business, washed up, and had to leave the ugly situation I saw in the mirror to confront another. I opened the door slowly, hoping she wasn’t angry. I slowly crept from behind the door and noticed she wasn’t in the bed. I looked around the corner to see she was leaning over the desk leafing through the papers. I took a deep breath and walked over to her.

“Are you ready to tell me anything, miss?” She was looking at the photos in the stack. That girl with the black hair and piercing gold eyes was in most of them. “I can’t connect the dots if you don’t draw a few lines for me.”

Neo looked up at me with pure white eyes. She was scared of this woman and I couldn’t help her like this. Was she threatened? Was she silenced? It hadn’t occurred to me until just now that she might not be mute by choice. Though our little affair the night before didn’t exactly progress far enough to find out if she had a tongue. It was probably for the best.

My recollections of the previous night were interrupted by a knock at the door. My heart stopped. I found myself subconsciously walking towards the door. It was dead bolted and chained; it wouldn’t be easy to get in even if they picked the lock. There was another knock. I was never to be disturbed by motel staff. Were we followed? Did they interrogate the manager? He wouldn’t give me up unless…

I was near to the door when I heard a gun click.

 

“You should open the door.”


	6. Faux Fur

I probably should have cleaned up the glass before I sat down. I’m going to end up stepping all over this when it gets dark. Why don’t these offices have better lighting? It’s always one little desk lamp that’s about ready to burn out. Is this mood lightning supposed to help me be a better detective? Or am I the only office in this building that has this set up. I should talk to the landlord.

 

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. In hindsight I shouldn’t have left that revolver in the bag loaded. I also shouldn’t have brought a pretty little thing like that to my safehouse. I guess wasn’t thinking with the right head. Now she’s got a gun to my back and I’m about to let someone in who will probably also have a gun. In the end this still won’t be the worst experience I’ve had waking up with a woman.

I unlocked the door, took off the chain, and grabbed the handle. “Ya know, hun, we can settle this in better ways.” I glanced over my shoulder she was standing there, fully unbuttoned, but still decently covered, and I swear my eyes went straight to the tattoo on her right hip. I closed my eyes and bit down on my lower lip. I was set up. She was in a gang. I sighed and opened the door. I knew just who was standing on the other side.

There she was. The burlesque queen from the photographs in all her glory. She was wearing a black raincoat with a hood over her perfect curls. Her twisted smile sent chills down my spine. She had her right hand in her pocket and I could tell there was a gun in that hand. I stood aside and let her. Little miss Neapolitan was still standing there pointing my own gun at me. She looked so scared of this woman why was she turning against me for her?

The woman closed the door behind her and pulled out her gun. But she didn’t point it at me. She pointed it at Neo, who shook a little and adjusted her aim.

“Surprised? Oh you’re a naïve little girl. What did you think going to him would get you?” She started laughing. It was chilling and condescending. “He’s not going to help you, hon.” She reached into her other pocket and pulled out another revolver and handed it to me. “He works for me.”

I checked the cylinder, actually full, shockingly. I couldn’t help but laugh as well. Neo’s eyes went a ghostly white when she connected the dots. She pulled out a cigar and handed it to me. My favorite supplier. I bit the cap off, spit it to the side, and placed it in my mouth. The lovely lady was kind enough to light it for me. “Oh Cinder, you’re as dramatic as ever. What are you frightening this girl for?” After she tucked the lighter back in her pocket she cupped my chin with her hand.

“Oh Roman, I thought you liked things dramatic.” I brushed away her hand and shook my head while smiling.  
  
“Of course.”

It was true. I had been working for her for years. When I saw those papers I knew she came for me, not Cinder. She probably thought I was betraying her or perhaps she was trying to blackmail me into helping her betray Cinder. She had been looking into all of the suspicious and unsolved crimes. How else could they happen without a crooked cop or two? Who would suspect the lead detective of tampering with the evidence? If I showed up to the crime scene first it wouldn’t be out of place. This was my town, my cases, my pocketbook filling with the bills. Every cop on the force had some sort of under the table deal. I just had a little more. The entire criminal underground was paying me off and I was sitting pretty.

Neo looked less scared and more angry at this point. Her eyes were blinking different colors. She put her finger over the trigger while she decided which one of us she wanted to shoot more. It’s not my fault she got into this. She was going to betray me. I could tell she already suspected that I worked for Cinder but she didn’t quite realize how close we were. She brought me the same exact kind of cigars I had been smoking this whole time and an identical revolver to the one she was holding.

“Now Cinder, I am sensing some… animosity between you and this gal, hm? Why don’t we work this out like regular folk. The owner wouldn’t be too happy about guns going off in here, eh?” I walked over to the bed and placed the gun down. I never had it pointed to begin with. Neo seemed insistent on pointing her gun. Cinder started to untie and unbutton her raincoat. I helped her take off her coat and set it aside. She sat down on the bed and laid the gun in her lap.  
  
“Aren’t you a bit cold, hon? Roman why don’t you get her coat?” She pointed to the fur coat over on the coat hanger. Neo was experiencing a bit of a cold front, it was about time she warmed up. I grabbed the coat and approached but she may have even growled at me. I looked over at Cinder who nodded at me.

I threw the coat over Neo’s head and grabbed her hand as the gun went off. She ruined such a nice fur coat. I wrestled the gun out of her hand and it dropped to the floor. She wriggled in my arms but I held her firmly. Even through all her struggle she didn’t make a sound.  
  
“You’re not in trouble, doll. I won’t hurt you.” I whispered to her through the fur.  
  
“Get a room.” Cinder scoffed.  
  
“I did, you’re in it. Now, let’s talk.”


	7. Cinder Blocks

Quite honestly I’m just trying to stall finishing this. I’m not alone in the room right now. My companion is very unhappy. I might honestly get shot if I don’t finish soon. The incident with the whiskey spill really pissed them off. I guess this will be the home stretch. They don’t know I’m writing this though. They think I’m just giving a good account of what happened the last couple days. It’s a decent account I guess. I’ll either be dead before they read this or they’ll kill me after they read this. Either way, fuck you.

 

Cinder swiped her finger over her revolver. “Look, hon, I know you’ve been snooping around. You’ve been trying to figure out who the mole is. Who’s been keeping our little business from the police. Well, you found him. He’s a good actor. I always thought he’d be better on a stage than he would be with a badge.” She continued her wicked smiled and chuckled a bit.

“You wouldn’t want me up there, I would take the spotlight from you. I’d look better in your outfit than you and I’d steal all your tips.” Cinder gave me a cold look. That might have been too far. I pulled the fur coat off of Neo’s head. Her hair looked like melted ice cream with the mess. I place the coat over her shoulders and held it closed over her bare chest. I bent over slightly and looked into her rather angry brown eyes and sighed. “Cinder isn’t mad at you…” I looked back at her. “…much. You just have to tell us who you’re working for. How much they’re paying you. And how you much you’ll swear fealty to live. Cinder can be quite… convincing.”

Cinder returned to her icy stare. For a woman who was always on fire her glare sure was below zero. They say that the eyes are the window to the soul and well, that woman was as soulless as they come with a block of ice of for a heart. This poor gal was headed for the bottom of a pier or lifetime of servitude. What was her angle? Why hadn’t Cinder brought up this ice cream broad? My train of thought of thought was yet again interrupted by a knock at the door. That would probably be the manager this time. A gun shot wouldn’t go unnoticed even in this joint. This wasn’t a place for cops to be snooping around.

“I’ll handle it.” I let go of Neo, picked up the freshly fired gun and handed it to Cinder, and headed for the door. “You two cats play nice now, eh?”

The knock was indeed the manager. I stepped outside to have a chat with him to assure him that no one was injured. I only slightly regretted walking out onto the wet concrete with my bare feet. It was better than being in the room with those two. I told him it was a simple misfire. Little lady found my gun, dropped it, it happens. He told me that he saw another car arrive and a woman walk to my room. I told him not to worry about it. But when he told me that the car wasn’t yet empty I was a bit worried. Cinder had brought some muscle. No doubt they were watching me at this moment. I joked about how it was simply a pimp coming to collect. Little did he know the pimp was the woman.

I finally convinced him to leave but I was a bit worried about returning to the room. I wasn’t exactly ready to hide a body so early in the morning. Cinder please be nice. She seems like a decent dame. She’s good at being quiet. I just whispered to myself ‘please don’t let there be a dead body in there’ over and over until I knocked on the door to be let back in. To my surprise it was the ice cream gal who answered. When I walked in I realized I would never be returning to this motel again.

I rubbed my eyes and sighed. Cinder was lying on the bed with a gun in her hand, finger on the trigger, and a knife in her throat. I probably should have checked the fur coat before I handed it over. Well I guess I’m fired. Neo was standing there with a gun pointed at me.

“Are you going to kill me too? Go ahead because I’m already dead as it is. Someone is going to get revenge on her.” I was more annoyed than scared. This was the last time I take a woman to a motel room without knowing her name. This was getting ridiculous. I’m not even thirty years old and I’ve nearly been killed by over a dozen women. If I made it out of there alive I’d retire. “Listen, she’s got a body guard outside. The minute you walk out that door you’re dead. I’ve got a plan. You listen to me and follow my lead then we’ll both walk out of here alive.”

She nodded and lowered her weapon only slightly. She listened to my plan which included dressing her up like Cinder until she got to Cinder’s car. If she made it that far she could kill the guard. I told her I’d take care of the body. The one I exactly did not want to dump today. I figured it was only appropriate to throw her into Cinder’s favorite dumping grounds. After pinning pack Neo’s hair and dressing her in Cinder’s clothes I pulled the hood up over her face. She was a bit short but the heels would help. The man was sitting in a car, he wouldn’t realize until it was too late.

I wrapped Cinder in the top blanket and then the fur coat. It was such a waste of a beautiful thing. Unless it turned out to be fake coat then I guess it was okay. I gathered up the remaining evidence, including Neo’s dress, shoved it all in my bag. I got ready to leave and then gave Neo the go ahead. I left a considerable amount of cash next to a note for the owner letting him know I’d never be back and that I was never here. It was a shame. This shit hole was really growing on me.

Once I heard a gunshot I peeked out the window to see Neo throwing the man twice her size into the passenger’s seat and speed off. At least she didn’t come back to kill me. I sprinted for the car with the completely not suspicious fur coat lump and my bag and dumped both in the trunk. I too spend off as I saw the owner run outside panicking.

I drove to the pier where the usual supplies were sitting there waiting. I wrapped a rope around the coat and some cinder blocks. She was dropped just like her namesake as I pushed them all into the river. There had to be a dozen skeletons waiting for her down there. I already didn’t miss her. I took a moment to light a cigar and stood there long enough to dump some ashes in the river.

“Good fucking riddance.” I’d be lying if I hadn’t imagined killing her once or twice. But I knew that would be the end my career. End of the road. It was time to retire while I still had my good looks.

I had a few loose ends to tie up first so I drove back to my office. That’s how I got into my current predicament. You see I’m currently sitting across from a man named Adam Taurus. A business partner of sorts to Cinder. He apparently found her car and the dead man, but made no mention of a certain pink and brown lass. The reason why I’m writing this is because he plans to hand it to the police in order to get me arrested, also to find out what exactly happened to Cinder. Ultimately he’d use me as a front for her murder in order to rally his little gang. See how terrible the cops are. Meanwhile I’d be headed for death row.

But what he doesn’t know is that I’m just biding my time. I always planned a little evidence removal technique for when things went sour. There’s a bomb under my desk. It should be about ready to explode. I’ll take one last drink of my whiskey. Here’s to you Cinder. May you burn for all eternity.

 

So good bye Mr. Bullshit. 

 

See you in Hell.


	8. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The scraps of paper have all been collected and patched together. But what happened after?

_An office building on East Dust street exploded earlier this Sunday afternoon after what appears to have been a deadly gas leak. It is unknown at this time how many fatalities were sustained. There currently are no survivors. The police and fire department are still going through the wreckage. They do not suspect foul play at this time. The landlord admitted earlier in an interview that the building was not up to code and was a fire hazard with the numerous offices cluttered with papers. Among the office owners is Vale Police force’s own Roman Torchwick. A respected detective who moonlighted as a private eye. If signs of foul play are found it could be tied to the numerous arrests the detective has had a hand in. It would be a great tragedy for our city if one of Vale’s finest was lost._

 

The television in the diner played the news of the day’s events. The owner shook his head and swore the town was going to hell. Gang crime was increasing daily. The city wasn’t safe anymore. In the corner of the diner a girl sat by herself eating an ice cream sundae. Her hair was tucked into a fashionable hat that slightly obscured her face. She dressed in all black as if she had a funeral to attend. Perhaps she was. She just didn’t decide whose yet.

The sundae was almost as big as her head but she was determined to eat it all. No one would fault her for trying. Though she was only one of very few customers in the diner. The rain had returned and the fear of the lightning that came with it kept people in their homes. But not this gal. She was digging right into her ice cream. She was half finished when a man approached her table and sat down across from her. She didn’t even pause her consuming of the dairy dessert.

“I thought I’d find you here.” He made himself comfortable. She continued to ignore the man “That looks mighty tasty, I might order one myself.”

The woman only glanced up at the man for a moment while he waived over a waiter and ordered himself a sundae. She was more than half done by the time he put the first spoonful in his mouth.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had a Neapolitan sundae. It’s better than I thought. I’ve eaten all kinds of ice cream and never stuck to one kind. But I might run with this for a while. See how I feel.” He kept the spoon in his mouth for a bit as he watched the lady across from him lick the ice cream from her spoon.

The two sat in silence for a while. He wasn’t as interested in the ice cream as much as he was interested in her. He found himself catching up just by subconsciously eating. He was taking in bigger spoonfuls than he ought to and ended up with an ice cream headache. He rubbed his temples for a while until he noticed she was staring him. He leaned on the table and stared at her.

“Whaddya say we get outta town? Just you an’ me. Couple of no names wanting to start a new life.” He winked. She shook her head and burst into laughter. It startled the silence of the diner. The man smiled at her two pink eyes and she smiled back.

 

“You can’t wink with one eye covered ya knucklehead.”


End file.
